"Mommy," Lily said, making grabby hands at Emily. The mother didn't mind, Emily had known Lily was going to want to stay in her arms for most of the day which would be fine because they had planned a lot of sitting activities today.

"I know, bug. I just need to put a shirt on first, silly girl," Emily assured.

Lily had come with Emily everywhere this morning—JJ had tried to help her wife out by asking Lily to snuggle when Emily went to shower but that didn't happen, and she waved it off. Then they made sure everyone had an outfit that would be okay for the day where Lily also added her two cents, ate breakfast, did everyone's hair, got the little peanut changed, and now it was Emily's turn.

"Hey mom, I think I want to wear this shirt instead," Clarke said, walking into the room her mothers were staying in. She failed to think anything of the fact her mom was standing there in a bra and a pair of shorts, it's not like her mother's walked around in no clothes at home but they believed in teaching their children to feel comfortable in their own bodies no matter what anyone else said. They never panicked to cover up if the kids walked in, but they were also never wearing anything less than they would in the pool either.

"What's wrong with the one you have on, sweet girl?" Emily asked. "I think it's super cute, you don't?"

"I do," Clarke said, looking in the mirror, then holding up the second choice she had too. "I just think these ties in the back might get in the way and I don't want to worry about them."

Emily straightened out the top of her own shirt then walked closer to Clarke to see how she could help her daughter. Truth be told, whatever the kids wanted to wear was completely fine by her, especially the big kids. Sometimes she or JJ may suggest something when doing a particular activity like today, or if it was one of the kids favorites and knew they couldn't easily replace it because accidents happen, even when you're 13.

"What if instead of the ties looping around your neck, I was able to tie it right here so you wouldn't have to worry about them getting in the way," Emily suggested, putting her finger between Clarke's shoulder blades.

"But how?"

"Let me worry about that," Emily smiled, turning Clarke back around so she could work her magic. Lily watched from the bed where Emily had situated her once she was dressed for the day and she gasped when she saw a new bow appear.

"Woah, Cwalk. Mommy maked a boah!"

Emily lifted the travel mirror she had so the girls could see their hair to show her the new bow and Clarke felt much better about wearing her first choice of shirt. They were making pasta from scratch and painting Italian symbols today, she really didn't want to have to worry about the ties from her shirt getting in the way while she was working.

"Thanks mom!" Clarke smiled, tipping her head back against Emily who leaned down and kissed her forehead.

"You're welcome sweet girl. Is everyone else ready?"

"Umm, when I came in here Brooks was fighting with mom to put on a shirt so I'm not really sure," she said with a laugh. It will never get old to her, someone in her family always refuses to put an article of clothing on and it was so funny.

"Oh gosh. Alright little bug, let's go see if momma needs some help," Emily said, lifting Lily off of the bed and wrapping an arm around Clarke.

"Wait, what about this shirt?" Clarke asked, holding up the other one she still had in her hand.

Emily took it from her and tossed it on their bed, "I'll deal with it later. We're going to be late if your mother can't get your brother to put on his shirt."

"Whatever you say, mom," Clarke laughed.

"How'd it go?" Emily asked Hotch when the kids were settled with all their paint colors. Even Lily was distracted, although she didn't want to sit in a big girl's chair, she was much more comfortable in Emily's lap.

"Good. I think it's much easier to understand because we're already so close already," Hotch answered. "You'll never guess what Jack said first though," he whispered.

Emily looked around the table at their family, smiling at her wife and Hayley who were clearly having their own conversation about the same thing and the kids who were so invested with their arts and crafts projects while talking about gosh knows what to pay attention to the adults.

"He couldn't understand how I'm so pretty and you're so just…you," Emily teased, sticking out her tongue.

Hotch rolled his eyes and teased her back, "No, he thought I was the younger sibling."

"Yeah right," Emily scoffed; she didn't believe that for a minute.

"Mommy, me need hewlp pwease," Lily interrupted, holding up her paint brush while leaning back against Emily heavily.

"Later," she said to him, then focused on Lily. "What are we making, bug?"

"Umm, dis a butfie an dis a raimbow," Lily said, clearly assuming her mother would know.

"Oh, of course bug. What do you need help with?"

"Doe-doe!" Lily answered.

It has taken many years of practice, but Emily can finally draw a very decent turtle which is great because Lily wants one in nearly every single one of her drawings or paintings. This is not why they were at the painting class, but for Lily, Harper and the twins, they were free to make whatever and however many paintings they wanted.

The class taught the big kids how to write certain words in Italian and then either draw them out or write the word and essentially color around it. Clarke took another perspective on things, deciding to use her photography as well—she had thought of their family at home like the rest of the kids, as when they went away the kids liked to bring them home gifts from their travels. Seeing as this was Clarke's first trip besides Disney, she incorporated her photos with a lot of her gifts.

This was going to be for Uncle Dave because he was Italian and she thought he'd appreciate it, maybe he'd even put it in his office which would be really cool. Clarke knew it was a moot point because everyone had her work and all her siblings art work in their offices and homes, but she thought maybe this would be extra special because it was made in another country.

Amelia felt that way about the second mask she painted with Clarke, they were going to give it to Auntie Penny because she was so exuberant and they painted it with so many tasteful colors. They knew she'd love all the feathers, sparkles, and how bright it was, not to mention the fact it reminded them of her. That's really what made the kids gifts so special to the adults, the thought behind them.

"Me wan daddy," Harper said, squirming out of Hayley's arms.

"Okay munchkin, hold on. Don't put your hand in that, Harper," Hayley said, gently grabbing the offending hand before she dipped it into the paint and caused a mess. To be honest, between Lily's boo-boo and Harper's moodiness today, they were almost taking place of the twins.

The two who were typically distracted the minute you set them in front of something knew and fun were not entirely happy campers today. Lily however, had a very valid excuse seeing as her poor knee was really torn apart, so much so Emily almost thought she may need to bring her in for stitches—Harper on the other hand, it's possible she just needed an early nap.

Brooks and Brynley were making a huge mess finger painting, but Sandy and Allen didn't mind one bit because they too were wearing smocks. The twins were having a great time, barely causing a peep besides the occasional squeal of happiness. The big kids were deep in conversation and so used to hearing their siblings that a whine here or there didn't cause them to even look up from their own artwork.

"Hi my little girl," Hotch said to Harper when Hayley handed her over. "Are you maybe a bit sleepy already?"

"No," Harper said, shaking her head with a yawn.

"Oh, okay," Hotch nodded, letting his wife know she was sleepy. "Let's paint a bit together," he said, cradling Harper in his arms in a way where she could technically still paint, but be more inclined to fall asleep.

"Yeah," Harper agreed, sticking her thumb in her mouth the same way Jack used to while her other four fingers slowly moved up and down across her face in a soothing manner.

Hayley hated the habit, no matter how adorable it was, she truly wished her kids responded to a pacifier because of how unsanitary sucking their thumb was. Emily felt the same way with Oakley and was grateful when she was able to switch her over to a pacifier even though she then had to wean her off of it. To Emily, it was worth it.

While Hayley and Hotch shared a look at how adorable Harper was now sound asleep, Emily and JJ shared their own because of what Brooks did to Allen. JJ covered her mouth with her hand then burst out laughing, she couldn't help it. To JJ, it was her father's own damn fault—he was so confident he could handle Brooks finger painting, not worried about the accident bound to happen. Well, the accident happened and it was funny as hell.

The kids looked up when they heard laughing then turned to see their grandfather covered in green paint. While Gerald still had a full head of hair, Allen had whisps of blonde, and a lot of bald which made the green stand out even more. It looked as if he took the little green cup of paint and dumped it right on top of his head.

Clarke was quick to snap a few pictures before anyone spoke, all too stunned really, then she broke the silence, "I think greens your color, grandpa."

That caused another round of laughter and Brooks squealed, looking up at his masterpiece with such joy that Clarke had to take some more pictures because she knew her grandma would totally want some when she wasn't so shocked. "You think so? I thought I was more of a blue guy, but maybe you're right," Allen said, happy to play along.

"Grandpa, you know the paint is supposed to go on the paper, right? Not you," Oakley giggled.

"You know, Oakley, I thought I'd try something new," he smiled.

"Oh no! No, no." JJ quickly stepped in. She knew her children understood paint wasn't something they wore, but with her father's comment she needed to make sure. "We know better than grandpa, right?"

"I don't wanna get my shirt all dirty," Oliver said. It wasn't his favorite shirt, he really liked this one though because it was a famous soccer players.

While JJ made sure the rest of the kids understood, Sandy turned to her husband and said, "How do you expect us to clean you two up without getting covered in paint ourselves?"

"Well honey, I hadn't thought that far in advance."

"No Allen, you sure didn't," Sandy said, shaking her head with a smile.

She wasn't really upset with him, these were memories they'd never forget with their grandchildren and while they wouldn't remember them because they were so young, that's what made them extra special. Sandy loved the memories they asked her about while looking at photos together because their eyes lit up when she told them what happened.

Once Brooks had been taken from Allen, he went to the bathroom to clean himself up and had a thought. Some of the days the activities they did filled their entire day, while others didn't because with so many children of all ages you couldn't keep them out each and every day expecting them to be on their A game.

This meant entertaining at the Prentiss villas and estates which was great because he had an idea that he thought the kids would really love. It wasn't the most traditional, but it incorporated things they loved most so he knew they'd all enjoy it.

"Can we do this at home, daddy?" Jack asked hours later when they were learning how to make pasta from scratch.

"We can sure try, buddy."

"Us too?" Oliver questioned, looking up at Emily.

"Only if I have lots of helpers, we have many more mouths to feed," she answered.

"We'll help," Amelia piped up, including herself and Clarke.

"Me too!" Oakley added.

"No me," Lily said, causing everyone to laugh. "Me wike to pway."

"Oh yeah, playing is much more fun," Amelia agreed with her little sister. "You can play with Brooks and Brynley while we make the pasta because you're a big girl."

"Yeah, me a big dirl!"

And a big girl she tried so hard to be, although she wasn't just yet. That night when the family was out for dinner, Emily realized she had a fever. Emily had changed her butterfly bandage multiple times today, the same thing she did anytime one of her children got a cut—she's the over protective mom who has the kids go to the school nurse if the cut is bad enough just to have her check it when they are away from her.

"Jen," Emily said, shaking her head knowing her wife would understand.

Lily hadn't taken a single bite of food and refused to drink milk, they even tried juice which wasn't a dinner beverage because of the sugar.

Gerald would go with Emily to the nearest hospital, they were grateful for the grandparents, Hotch and Hayley who would be able to help JJ with the kids because the mothers knew the blonde would have her hands full with worried siblings. JJ kissed Lily, then each of the siblings and Jack gave her hugs, the grandparents, JJ once again for Lily and Emily this time, then they left.

"Is Lily gonna be okay, momma?" Oakley asked, not liking her sister was leaving.

"Yeah Oakie-bear, mommy's going to make sure she's okay," JJ assured, cuddling her daughter close.

Allen cuddled Oliver, Sandy cuddled Amelia, and Elizabeth cuddled Clarke—thankfully the twins loved to eat and didn't notice anything but the food in front of them. Small victories there, they truly were JJ's children in that regard, Brooks and Brynley loved to eat.

Once the mother realized the kids weren't going to snuggle for a few minutes then perk back up, JJ altered courses a bit after okaying it with Hotch and Hayley. JJ and Emily had stricter screentime rules than anyone, however, when she asked if the kids wanted to watch something on the iPad while they finished eating and they said yes, she was fine with it.

Hotch and Hayley didn't mind, it wasn't as if they let Jack and Harper eat dinner and watch tv at home but this was vacation and a very unique circumstance. They were all so close and really worried about Lily. When Oakley had her appendix out, Lily was practically still a baby and Jack was so distracted with Harrison he had no idea she was even gone. Tonight though was completely different and if it was an infection, all the adults knew waiting would only make things worse.

To Elizabeth's surprise, she wasn't horrified by seeing multiple iPads on the table she was sitting at. Whenever she had seen them out in public before, she couldn't believe parents had allowed it and was incredibly happy her daughter and JJ didn't let her grandchildren do something so disrespectful. Tonight however, she was grateful her grandchildren had something to distract them and almost wished there was an adult version for herself as she took another sip of wine.

They took Lily right back and Emily had a feeling between her size and whatever her father had said after she had checked her daughter in was the reason why. Emily didn't care what the reason was though, she just wanted her daughter to feel better. Her poor little peanut was in so much pain, she could barely keep her eyes open, her head was lulling around, she started burning up so suddenly, her body was hot and cold at the same time, Emily was terrified.

When Oakley was sick, she gradually became sick and got better faster than Emily thought was possible. Lily however, she complained of the pain her boo-boo was causing which was understandable, was very cuddly something that always happened if she didn't feel great, then plummeted in the blink of an eye. Emily couldn't shake the feeling that something was terribly, terribly wrong with her little bug.

"Daddy, something is really wrong with my baby," Emily said, refusing to let her tears fall as she held Lily close in the hospital bed.

The nurse had already given Emily a hospital gown covered in teddy bears to change Lily into which only made her look smaller, and the mother wrapped her blankie around her and snuggled doe-doe close the way she liked it as the little one was in and out of consciousness.

Gerald comforted his daughter the best he could. Like everyone else, he too just thought his granddaughter had cut her knee on a pesky rock. They even made a big deal out of throwing it far, far away to help Lily feel better, and because she was a feisty little one, it did make her feel better. "She's going to be okay, Emmy."

He knew Emily had five daughters, but Lily was her first daughter, her first child. She made her a mother, there will always be a special place for Lily in Emily's heart and it was breaking Gerald's seeing his daughter so upset; he knew there wasn't anything he could truly do or say about it until they had some answers.

"Hello, my name is Dr. Robbins. I hear you have a little one who isn't feeling so hot," she said, walking close to the bed. "Can you tell me what brought you in tonight?"

"Yesterday around 6:30pm she was playing with her siblings," Emily began, continuing to run her fingers through Lily's hair. "Most are older which causes her to try her best to keep up, and because of that and a rock that got in her way, she took a hard spill. I think more than anything, getting the wind knocked out of her scared her most but she does have a nasty cut on her knee," Emily continued.

She moved Lily's blankie and gently took off the butterfly band-aid which got a whine in return causing Emily to shh her daughter back to sleep. "I've checked it three times today, the redness has spread since noon. When we went for dinner around 5:15pm ish, Lily refused to eat, and since then she's hit a huge decline. I can't even get her to drink juice, something my wife and I don't allow at dinnertime. She has a fever, she's sluggish, can't stay awake, I'm afraid something serious is going on that we can't see."

Gerald watched in awe. He truly didn't know how his daughter kept herself together, before the doctor came in he could tell she was about to cry, rightfully so and then she sat up a bit straighter and her personality completely changed. He had seen it before, but not in his daughter, in his wife. Oh, he thought to himself. His wife made his daughter able to switch herself on and off like that—he could honestly say while it was helpful for the doctor, he wasn't a fan because he knew his daughter should be allowed to feel her emotions.

Then he started to think about his son because Aaron had a similar trait about him, but for some reason it didn't make him feel so sad. Maybe because he was a man and being stoic was a fantastic quality for the job he did, and his former career as a lawyer which provided Gerald with a sense a pride. That was a double standard though because he knew rationally Emily did the same job, and so did JJ—just because they were women didn't mean they should show their emotions more or less, but JJ definitely wore hers on her sleeve.

By doing all this thinking, Gerald realized he was missing what the doctor and Emily were talking about and chastised himself for getting so lost in his own thought. Then again, he too had just found out he had a son and it's not that he was comparing his children in a bad way, more in a sense of what qualities they each got from him knowing he was a pretty absent parent. Totally absent for Aaron, but pretty absent for Emily as well; he spent an awful lot of her childhood traveling and truth be told, didn't think much of it. He knew how terrible that sounded and if he could do it all over again, he would make so many changes but then his life now may not be the way it is and his daughter is so happy—that's not something he would ever dream of taking from her.

"Okay, thank you," Emily said, kissing the top of Lily's head as the doctor walked out of the room.

"Shit," Gerald mumbled to himself. He had missed the entire conversation between the doctor and his daughter.

"I'm so sorry, baby girl. Mommy loves you so, so much," Emily said, clearly missing what her father had said.

"Emmy, there's no reason for you to apologize pumpkin," Gerald said, moving from the chair onto the edge of the bed to sit next to his daughter. He laid a hand gently on Lily's little hand as well as he pushed some of the hair that had fallen into his daughter's face behind her ear and kissed her forehead.

"This is my fault, daddy. I should have taken here when this happened last night," Emily said, resting her head on her father's shoulder.

"Emily, kids fall down. It's a part of life, honey. Look at those sons of yours," he said with a small laugh hoping his daughter would laugh as well.

Brooks was still their daredevil, he thought it was the funniest thing in the world when he fell off anything and Oliver didn't intentionally fall like his brother but soccer and just being a boy meant falling sometimes. Whether he dove while playing, tripped, or got pushed, he had his fair share of cuts that have all healed. The worst one was below his elbow, but he was right, it did look like a soccer ball and he teased his moms every night they put on the vitamin e oil that it was okay if it scarred because he loves soccer.

"Dad, they're pretreating Lily for sepsis!" Emily said, louder than she intended to which caused Lily to stir a bit. "It's okay, baby. Mommy's got you, bug. Mommy is right here, shh, shh, shh. Go back to sleep, my sweet little baby bug," she soothed, gently rocking Lily back and forth.

Gerald's mouth dropped open and he regretted making a joke about kids falling. He really should have been listening. Before he could say anything, three nurses and the doctor came back in and they all worked with Emily to get Lily hooked up to an IV while keeping her asleep and comfortable. They took pediatrics to another level here, Emily had to tell Oakley a story when they did her IV in the states but for Lily, they gave her a bit of nitrous oxide through an oxygen mask so the little one never knew what hit her.

When the three nurses left and the doctor told Emily what they were giving Lily, Gerald hit record on his phone to try and be helpful. Emily of course would remember as this was her child however, his memory wasn't that great and this was all he could think to do. He also looked at the time to figure out if the rest of the family would still be at dinner or not. Knowing his daughter and JJ, they most likely wouldn't want the rest of the kids to come to the hospital, but he also had a feeling depending on what the doctor said, the big kids would beg to come. That would be a decision the mothers would have to make though. Thankfully there were plenty of adults to watch the twins which was great, two less to worry about.

"Like I said, we're pretreating now. We won't know until her tests come back, but anytime I see a little one experiencing two or more signs, I like to be safe," Dr. Robbins said. "We've taken blood, started Lily on antibiotics, cleaned the wound again adding four stitches, given her a dose of NSAIDs, and have an IV going. She'll be out for a while which is good because she needs her rest. Can I get you anything or answer any questions?"

"No thank you," Emily said, tucking Lily's blanket up around her the way she liked it.

"I have a question," Gerald spoke up. "I'm sorry, I'm Lily's grandfather Gerald Prentiss," he said, standing up to shake the woman's hand.

"Dr. Arizona Robbins," she greeted.

"You said you're pretreating, if this isn't the worst case, do you have any idea what else it could be and what type of treatment you'd go with then?"

The doctor smiled at him and Emily spoke up, "Dad, she's already gone over that. Come sit down, let her go back to work."

"Oh, I don't mind," Dr. Robbins said.

"You did?" he questioned. "I must have been thinking about something else," he apologized.

"It's not uncommon, Mr. Prentiss. The emergency room can be a bit of a whirlwind for family members. As I told your daughter, when little ones present with certain symptoms, I prefer to treat a certain way as a precaution. It won't harm them, but it could save them if it came down to it. Lily's blood is being tested as we speak and we'll be monitoring her closely. Your daughter brought your granddaughter in as soon as Lily started declining instead of waiting, she's a great mother and because of that, I'm hopeful some intravenous antibiotics will quickly treat this infection Lily has," Dr. Robbins assured, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"You're right, she is a great mother," he agreed. "Thank you so much."

"You're very welcome, Mr. Prentiss. I'll check in with you shortly."

"Can we call mommy and check on Lily?" Oliver asked.

Dinner was picked at, boxed up, paid for, and they were now on their way home. None of the kids were hungry once their mom and sister left besides the twins and Harper who didn't know better and the parents weren't going to push it. They'd bring the food home, and they could eat it later, or make them something else to eat when/if they were hungry.

"Yeah, I'm worried about her," Amelia agreed.

"Me too. Mom always responds to my texts," Clarke whispered.

She knew this was different because her mom's had promised her to always respond to her text messages or phone calls unless she was with the other—they said this to her for unforeseen reasons like this or when JJ was working because she couldn't always get to her phone right away, she really did try though.

Clarke understood, and she was really grateful how seriously her mom's took responding to her even with things that weren't necessarily important. When she went over to her friends house and sent her mom a text saying something like, we had a super delicious dinner maybe we could try it sometime, her mom could easily respond face to face when she got home but always text her back. Or if she text JJ when she was away on a case with something just as meaningless like, look at this shirt I got at the mall, JJ responded with a silly text saying I wish I could fit in it so I we could share.

Needless to say, not receiving a text back tonight had Clarke feeling extra worried about her little sister especially because her other siblings were so anxious too and she couldn't do anything to fix it.

"Is mommy gonna sing to us tonight?" Oakley asked, suddenly thinking about bedtime.

"Hey Oaks, maybe we can make Lily a really pretty card from all of us. What do you think, can you help me? You're the best at arts and crafts," Clarke asked, whispering the last part to just her knowing Amelia and Oliver wouldn't take any offense.

"Yeah, can we momma?" Oakley asked.

JJ was so grateful for Clarke's distraction. The twins did so well while they were at dinner, but the second she buckled them into their car seats, they clearly picked up on the energy and started screaming causing JJ to try and soothe them with the help of her parents while driving.

How Elizabeth ended up in the car with the Hotchner's nobody will really know—they had three cars and Emily took one to the hospital leaving everyone else with two. Thankfully they all had a combination of booster and car seats because the kids liked to switch it up, choosing to drive with their grandparents, aunts, uncle, or parents leaving whoever with the remainder of the children. It was a bit of a smorgasbord of kids; they found it was easiest to pair the children up with whatever adult they choose that day and called it a day.

"I think that's a great idea, babies. Lily will love it," she smiled, holding the back of her mom's t-shirt as she unbuckled and gave Brynley her pacifier. The only problem with the crazy seating here was not having three helpful sets of hands like they did at home. Clarke, Amelia and Oliver could always give the twins their pacifiers from their seats however, not the way they were in these cars.

"Mom, you've got to sit back. This isn't safe," JJ said. She didn't like this; it wasn't a good example for the kids, and they were almost home. It wasn't worth it to JJ, and it was only stressing her out more.

"Grandma, it's okay. We know they cry, it just kinda happens cause' they are babies," Oliver said with a shrug.

"Okay honey," she said, sitting back down in her seat and putting back on her buckle. She hated to hear her grandbabies so upset, but she didn't want to upset her other grandchildren even more by being out of her seat.

"Your mother is calling," Gerald said, holding up his phone.

"I haven't spoken with Jen yet, dad," Emily said, refusing to take her eyes off Lily.

"I'll tell her I will call her back then just so she doesn't worry," he responded. Gerald knew if he didn't answer, Elizabeth would keep calling him and he didn't want that but he didn't want to go against his daughters wishes either.

Emily heard the electric doors slide open and continued running her finger over Lily's cheek, smiling each time she got to her little ones ear because it caused her to involuntarily smile. "I love you so much, Lily bug. I'm so sorry you've been through so much in your little life already. I've tried so hard to protect you from all the evil in the world, who knew I unknowingly put you in harms way because of him…"

Emily wiped the tear running down her cheek thinking about Doyle. When Lily was diagnosed with celiac disease, she had herself tested immediately even though she truly didn't need to. She and her parents never felt sick after eating gluten and because it was a genetic disease, it was his fault. While he gave Emily one of the best gifts in her life, Lily, he wasn't responsible for the little girl she was today. Emily made her who she is. He did cause her pain though with his genetics and Emily will always hold that against him no matter how much she knows it isn't worth it.

"You're mommy's saving grace though, bug. I wouldn't be who I am without you. I'm so sorry baby girl. I love you so, so much," she continued.

Gerald wiped her tears this time, sitting on the bed next to his daughter. He had learned so much about being a parent from his own child, and he knows it's completely backwards and totally unfair to her, but it was true.

"You, Emily, are the best mother. I am so proud of you, pumpkin. Seven children, each such a polite, gracious, kind, thoughtful, loving, unique, beautiful child because of the nurture you and Jennifer provide them with. If I had been half of the parent you are when you were growing up…" he said, shaking his head at the countless mistakes he had made. "I don't know how you turned out so well, Emmy-bear. I really don't."

Gerald paused for a few minutes then said, "Your brother had a great mother, but you didn't have anyone. Not a single soul looking out for you yet you're the most extraordinary person I know." He wiped more of her tears and kissed her forehead again then added. "Aaron does have two left feet though," he said, in hopes of getting his daughter to laugh this time.

And to his delight, it worked.

Rome had a lot of cobblestones paths and watching Aaron walk on them was absolutely hilarious. Hayley carried Harper because she was too afraid he may fall and take her down with him, it looked like he was just learning how to walk again for the first time.

"He didn't have mom pay for a million dance lessons," Emily said with an eyeroll. She loved dancing, the type of dance her girls did, not ballroom, which her mother insisted upon. 'You'll never meet a nice boy if you don't know how to properly dance, Emily' she heard play through her head in her mother's voice.

"He could have used all those lessons you skipped," Gerald commented, surprising Emily. She never knew her mother had told him she skipped the lessons. "Maybe if he had taken some his wife wouldn't fear him walking down the street holding his own child."

Emily couldn't help but laugh. Anytime Hotch would insist he was fine, he'd trip again causing everyone to burst out laughing again. The boys kept saying, watch us, copy us, the girls teased him while holding onto the twins hands saying, look even the babies can do it, it was hilarious. One of those family memories that would go down in the books and would always be funny for everyone but Hotch, although Emily did see a few smiles from him too.

"I don't feel badly for him, he's given me so much crap for pretty much everything over the years," Emily said, covering Lily's ears when she said crap even though she was out like a light. Force of habit.

"You know, I was talking to your mother about this last night. Sometimes it's hard to believe the two of you didn't grow up together, your relationship is so easy going, but you also have that fierce protectiveness over one another, and can turn on each other on a dime in a teasing manner."

"Yeah," Emily agreed. "Well, it wasn't always like that. He really made me work for my spot on the team, but we had a turning point when Erin Strauss told me she wanted me to get him fired from the BAU."

"What?" Gerald said, completely shocked and suddenly pissed off at the woman.

"This was before we somewhat tolerated her," Emily said to settle her dad down. "A lot has happened since then. She pretty much told him he could practice law again but couldn't run the BAU and suspended him. During that time, I turned in my resignation and was going to go back to Interpol, then he showed up at my place and told me the team needed us. Long story short, that case ended with me getting hit in the head with a 2 by 4, us keeping our jobs, and Strauss knowing I could end her career with one phone call. After that, our relationship changed because Hotch knew I'd rather quit than turn against him, and you know, the whole getting hurt thing," she said with a shrug.

"A 2 by 4, really Emily?" Gerald asked, examining his daughter's head as if he would find a mark there after all these years.

"Dad, what the heck are you doing?" Emily asked, shooing his hand away from her head.

"What other injuries have you sustained that I don't know about?"

"You really don't want to know," Emily mumbled. "Oh look, Jen's calling," she said, thankful her phone was vibrating leaving Gerald alone with his imagination.

"Hi Jen," Emily answered.

"Babe, how's our little peanut?" JJ asked.

This happened to one of my little ones. It was very scary how fast everything happened, I'm very grateful to our family for being there. :)